On the last day of the old year, John Paul II was already back at home. According to tradition, in the afternoon he presided over Vespers in the church of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Over time, Vespers was moved to St. Peter’s Basilica. At Loyola’s, the faithful ceased to fit in – says the Archbishop. These Vespers became a Roman custom. More and more citizens of Rome came this way to say goodbye to the old year along with the Holy Father. Vespers were attended by representatives of the Roman Church and the city authorities. John Paul II usually referred to the situation in Rome. Although what he said often sounded universal. For example, when he said whom he is embracing with thought and care at the beginning of the New Year. On one occasion he said: “I have in my thought families who struggle to earn their livelihoods; I think of children living in difficult conditions and of young people who lack prospects for the future; I think of the sick, of the elderly and lonely, of the abandoned and homeless, of those who feel rejected by society. May the New Year bring them serenity and hope.” Because this is how it was with the Holy Father – says Archbishop Mokrzycki. He carried the poorest and the neediest in his heart every day. And, in such moments, at Christmas, at the end of the year, he thought about them especially warmly. And, he asked God to help them. (…) We sang psalms and songs of thanksgiving. And, we thanked them not only for the day that ends, but for the entire year. They also sang the hymn of thanksgiving “Te Deum”. The same one which, just after the death of John Paul II, was intoned over his body by his first secretary, today Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz. The Archbishop once told me that then – just after John Paul II’s heart stopped beating – he could not understand it. The Holy Father is dead – I thought, and we sing “Te Deum”. But, I quickly understood why Stanisław sang it. After all, we had something to thank for. For his beautiful life and beautiful death, which was for the glory of God. Which opened many eyes and hearts. The Archbishop says that now when he hears the hymn “Te Deum”, he is reminded first of how they sang after the death of their beloved Holy Father, and only then how the “Te Deum” was sung by the crowds during Vespers at the end of the year. In thanksgiving for the entire year, as then in thanksgiving for the entire life of the Holy Father. And, for the fact that we could accompany him in this life, because it was a great grace.
With the consent of Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki – “Place for everyone”
Znak Publishing House, Kraków 2013.
